


The Fairy's Kiss

by Perianwyri



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perianwyri/pseuds/Perianwyri
Summary: On his way to Hateno, Link stops to help a villager rescue her friend from a terrible fate.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	The Fairy's Kiss

**The Ginner Woods**

The treetops cast puzzle piece shadows on Link and his horse. They trotted down the forest’s rough dirt path, casual but with an open ear for danger. One didn’t know if a random bokoblin patrol might happen across them.

Every so often he would stop to collect plants and vegetation around the tree roots or collect a passing bug or two to add to his potion making stores. In the past he’d laughed off Zelda’s claim that alchemy was an important thing to learn; now on his own, the knowledge she’d taught him had served so well in this new world…

“HELP!”

Link heard someone shout at the top of their lungs. 

He’d been bent down to collect some mushrooms when he’d heard the cry. Now he was up and swung into his saddle, urging the mount to a quicker speed while unloading the wooden spear he’d liberated from a bokoblin not too long ago. It didn’t have the weighted perfection of the lances that he’d practiced with with the Royal Guard, but he was learning that in this new world improvisation got him far. 

He fell into the clear, empty headed space that came when battle was joined. He crashed through the underbrush and found a scene: two Hylian women, both menaced by bokoblins, one fallen over, the other being chased. Link’s eyes narrowed.

The bokoblin menacing the Hylian girl never knew what was coming: its head turned just in time to see the spear that drove into its stomach, the force throwing the tiny barrel shaped body backwards and through the brush, where it hit a tree and its pancake-y head shuddered, then fell.

“My friend!” the woman shouted, and her finger pointed in the direction of the woman being chased. Link whirled the spear back into a ready position and charged, already seeing the bokoblin swing a bony blade at the woman and watched her body fall. 

This bokoblin saw him coming, and dived to the side as he rode by. Link wheeled and stopped, jumping from the mount. The woman was lost among the grasses. The bokoblin menaced, inviting him to attack..

With a squeal that was more piggish than monstrous, the bokoblin leaped into the air and brought the force of the makeshift club down where Link had stood. Link had moved to the side and was a blur of motion, repeatedly thrusting his weapon in and out and in and out until like its sibling, the bokoblin fell to the ground with a cry

Both bokoblins then exploded into the purple-black mist of the Cataclysm’s dark magic, and disappeared..

Link wanted to take a knee and rest his head against the length of wood in hand, but there was the matter of the young, injured woman and her companion. He dropped the spear where he stood and walked over to her, her friend joining him as he examined the body.

“Is she all right?” she asked. 

Link couldn’t say. His knowledge of wounds came from the battlefield, and while this one had bruising, it looked like the slash was the only visible damage. He lifted her up into the strength of his arms, with the woman trailing behind him. “Where are you going?”

“Hateno is nearby, right?” Link said. The woman nodded the affirmative. “Let’s take her to the healer there. She’ll be a better judge of it than I.” 

Together they collected her things, and Link got his horse by the bridle and put the unconscious woman on top of it. Together they got back out onto the road, and hurried up the path towards Hateno.

**Hateno Village**

The healer’s hut in Hateno Village was twilight lit and burbled with liquids and potions and smoke and strangely cast light. Link was again reminded of Zelda, this time of her “secret” alchemy lab where she’d practiced the craft she’d covertly learned from Impa. He remembered the quiet patience in which the ancient Sheikah had guided the princess in her studies, her gnarled hands moving the Princess’s as they added still twitching ingredients into long stemmed beakers and purified parts of creatures over magical flame.

Link and the girl’s companion watched as the healer’s hands moved up and down the woman’s respirating body, trying to find the source of her ills. “Hm hm hm,” she eventually muttered, intoning and gesturing to the cut right above the woman’s navel

“Is it serious?” the companion asked.

“Hm, hm,” the healer said, her words murmured, “Bokoblins?” Link and the woman nodded. “Regretful. It would seem that one of them had the sleeping poison on their weapons.”

“What does that mean?” her companion asked.

“She’ll never wake up,” Link said. He’d seen bokoblins prepare these poisons; knew it was made to allow the person to die, slowly, exposed to the elements.

The healer opened her eyes for the first time. They were too large for the sockets of her skull and moved like the ancient Sheikah machinery, and fixated on him in a way Link didn’t exactly feel comfortable. 

“There are counters,” she said, “but they’re rare, and hard to find.”

“The fairy’s kiss,” Link said. 

The healer laughed, a dry and dusty thing. “Yes.”

That laugh followed them out of her shop and into windy Hateno, where people went about their day, ignorant to the pain inside that house of healing. Not for the companion though. It felt like all hope was lost and that she would never see her friend again.

But Link just had a look of grim determination look on his face, one she wasn’t sure what it meant. He whistled for his horse and began tightening its straps.

“I guess you’re leaving, huh?” she asked, her face fallen.

Link nodded. “You heard the healer. She needs a fairy’s kiss, and I’m going to go get her one.”

“You’re...going to do that?” the woman was taken aback. She had expected him, now that his business was done, to move on to the next town. That’s what wanderers did. But this man was leaving on a journey without thought of reward or thanks? “Why?”

Link shrugged. “Because it’s what’s the right thing to do.” He swung up into his saddle and clicked the horse forward.

There was a moment’s pause, then, “I’m coming with you.”

“The fields and lands beyond Hateno are dangerous,” Link said.

The woman shrugged. “I have to get that kiss.”

Link thought, then exhaled. “All right, you’ll need a horse.”

**Cliffs of Quince**

Hateno was a small village built into a great hill. As one descended down the hill and wound through the town, a forest grew and deepened until it became the deep forest where Link had met -

“My name is Bianca,” the woman said finally. It had been hours since they’d left the town, and they had only recently left that forest behind..

Link looked back. “Link.” He turned back towards the path.

“We were looking for truffles, you see - me and Mayflower,” Bianca continued. She rode up closer to come parallel to him on the road. “That’s when the bokoblins attacked and you saved us.”

Link smiled. “You’re welcome.”

It was quiet for a few minutes. Then, “Master Link?” she asked, her horses footfalls making clamp-clamp-clamp sounds as they walked, “uh, where do we get this, um, kiss?”

“The nearest Fairy Fountain is near Kakariko,” Link answered. He’d consulted what had looked like a map on the strange, rectangular artifact he had hanging from a belt loop on his side. “That’s a couple days’ travel through some dangerous territory. But we’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.” They fell back into silence.

That silence led to guilt. Guilt over getting her friend hurt. She urged her horse forward again to catch pace with Link. “Master Link, have you ever...accidentally...failed a friend?”

Everything but their horses walking went quiet. Bianca noticed that Link’s eyes had gone misty, like he was somewhere else. After forever, he smiled at her, a look that said everything about pain and dealing with it. “I have. But you can fix it.”

Once again Bianca fell back into pace behind Link, ruminating on what he’d said.

**Fort Hateno**

The dirt path started to sprout paving stones; one or two here or there at first, then patches, then a complete road. The trees on either side collected rusted weapons and armor and crude wooden skeletons of carts about their roots.

The evidence of what had happened here during the Cataclysm was manifold; crisscrossed stone statues pierced full of rusty wooden spears, toppled squares of stone walls, hastily wrought barricades made as each wave of the vile ancient machinery had sought to find purchase and attack Hateno.

As they passed by, Bianca shuddered. All children of Hateno knew about the Stone Demon Siege: that day when their grandfathers and grandmothers and mothers and fathers had held the line against the stone demons of Cataclysm Ganon, never letting a single one of them past the walls of Fort Hateno. Many brave villagers had lost their lives that day, but the stone army had never broken through, and had been left to rot at the abandoned fort along with other reminders of that day.

As they continued down the path, more broken stone demons appeared. They were made of rock, tubular, with arms that ended in either fearsome claws or weapons. Circular runes dotted the tube; from what the stories had said, these were the creatures eyes and the magic spells that animated them.

Something about seeing the strange creatures up close drew Bianca to them; she wandered off of the path, mesmerized by their presence…so distracted she barely heard the shouted warning from Link; the world suddenly narrowed and she missed the sudden glowing eye that was fixated on her, placing a red dot on her chest….

Things came sharply into focus when she felt her back slam against the ground and pebbles grind into her spine. There was someone on top of her; she heard the petrified horror cries of the horses, squealing…

“Stay down,” Link said in her ear. Biance realized that he was straddled over her, looking in the direction they’d come from, cover throwing shadow over them both. He’d been hurt; his face and clothes had singed along his jawline.

They were hidden behind a rock; Link must have jumped from his horse, tackled her, and rolled them both here when - she looked beyond and saw the statue twisting its top piece this way and that, looking for them. Meanwhile one of the trees was alight with fire, flames licking at dry limbs.

Link said: “stay here.” He’d retrieved a bow and an arrow lit with foxfire and leaned over just far enough to loose it before rolling out of cover and setting another one. The demon took the arrow to the chest where it exploded in a flash of light and sound; Bianca had to look away from the bright flash and temporarily lost track of her companion.

It was a confusing mess of a situation - Link dodging this way and that, the statue tracking him with its glowing red eye. Bianca felt it was her duty to help, somehow. The statue was entirely focused on Link; perhaps, she could use that to her advantage? 

Looking around she spied arrows sticking out of the wanderer’s bags. She retrieved one of them and noticed that it was engraved with the same kind of runes that the stone demon bore. Her resolve hardened; she may not be a warrior like Link, but if her ancestors could take one of these down, then so could she. 

Bianca waited for her moment, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart. When it came, she got to her feet and dashed, then jumped, onto the back of the creature twice her size.

It realized too late what was going on.

Bianca spied a crack in the armor where neck met chest; here she drove the arrow, arrowhead first, down into with the force of all of her ancestors, then said a quick prayer to the Goddess.

Her job done, she fell to the ground and as soon as she felt solid weight again, ran for cover as fast as she could, not looking back until she heard an explosion, and felt fire and wind blow past her. A few rock chips tinkered off of the rocks she hid behind.

Bianca looked over the top of her shelter. There stood Link, among the messy remains of the statue, looking down at them, looking over at her. When he saw that she was all right, he gave a fatigued smile, then bent down, and began to examine the rubbish.

***

Bianca was the furthest out from Hateno she had ever been. They had stopped at an empty cabin that was clean and well-stocked, and their campfire crackled in the darkness. A blanket of stars swept overhead, with comets swinging past. Link had pulled some meat out of his bags, and was quietly cooking them over the campfire while sipping from his canteen.

His calm spoke to years of travel out on the open road, Bianca supposed. He looked so casual, but she had no idea that he was keenly listening for threats. So she was taken by surprise when he said:

“You did good with that Guardian this afternoon.”

Bianca hadn’t expected to hear praise when she’d made what she’d considered a mistake. She blushed. “Thank you.”

“You’re more resourceful than you think you are. Remember that,” he said. 

They lapsed back into silence.

They slept peacefully that night, she in the cabin, Link underneath the stars.

**Blatchery Plain**

The world past the fort wasn’t much different; the bones of the Guardians still lay in frozen corpor state, their arms still ready to strike in one deadly swing; their heads forever frozen in battle. Bianca bit her lip down as they passed, and soon enough, they were through, out into the open fields beyond Hateno.

They emerged into a falling rain (they’d heard the first drops hit the leaves of the tertiary trees as they were exiting) and into a sort of low grassland with small, hilly outcrops. Their trail had gone from cobblestone back to dusty now to muddy; it slopped around the hooves of their horses like plaster to a cast. Link had swept over the hood of his cloak over his head, reminding Bianca to do the same.

Their pace was slow. Thick globs of water fell upon them, finding ways into the cracks and crevices that weren’t protected by their clocks, sending shivers down their spines. Bianca’s horse had been hurt by the Guardian’s initial fireblast, and was walking with a slight limp because of it. Link assured her that by the end of the day they would be at a rest stop where she could leave her horse for another to make the journey. Bianca just felt bad that she’d hurt the horse in the first place.

The valley that they were travelling through had been one of the last battlefields of the Cataclysm. Like at the fort, this one bore wounds: more of those vicisious stone idols and weapons of the retreating King’s Guard. They were a grim reminder.

“Be careful here,” said Link, looking back at her, his hood still drawn, “plenty of ghosts here among the dead, and sometimes, even worse things. It’s best to keep to the path and don’t touch anything.”

Bianca was shocked by the bluntness of his words, but then saw the coy smile on his face; she smiled back. They continued on through the falling rain, its pitter patter the only words between them. Day turned from morning to afternoon while the sky darkened; about the time it looked like the clouds would unleash, they crested another hill and saw a large wooden horsehead rising into the air. Link pointed. “That’s where we’re headed,” he said, and they picked up their speed to get there before the storm worsened

**Dueling Peaks Stables**

They weren’t the only ones seeking the inn for comfort. Others came in with them, running with bags and arms raised over their heads to shield them from the rain. Link and Bianca were lucky to tie their horses to a post and run inside before the threat was delivered and the sky opened up.

Water dripped from every tip of clothing they wore, and they laughed at how silly each other looked. They shook off the excess and approached the innkeeper. “Room for two?”Link asked the portly, sausage nosed keep, who eyed them both up as he thought about their request. With the assistance of a rupee he nodded over to the beds against the walls of the shelter. Then he turned to the next person in line while they walked away.

“Are you hungry?” Link asked as they approached the beds together. The floor was wooden and had straw littering the ground. Bianca nodded, silent. Hateno had not been a small town, but the presence of so many people in so small a space overwhelmed her. Link seemed to notice, and left her at the beds with their stuff while he went to go fetch them their dinner from the innkeeper.

Bianca accepted the warm meal gratefully and they both watched as the crowd ebbed and flowed over the evening as travelers arrived and left, but the rain remained the same.

Soon enough sleep and weariness tugged at them, and they turned in for the night.

**Kakariko Bridge**

The rain had let up when they rose the next morning to get up and ready for the trip ahead. Bianca had risen later than Link had; she found him talking to a fellow traveler outside the inn, exchanging stories and engaging in light conversation.

While he did that, Bianca settled up with the innkeeper and the stablehand for a fresh horse. They promised to look after her own horse and to tend the wound to its leg. She said her thanks and went back to Link.

They were just finishing their conversation. Link and the traveler said their goodbyes, arms raised in salute, and Link turned back to her. “Ready to go?” he asked.

They mounted up again, and headed back up in the road in the direction of the mountains that they’d seen to the east as they’d traveled the road yesterday. The ride was peaceful and quiet, if muddy, and the sun had just started coming out of the clouds when they crossed a wooden bridge over a small river.

Up ahead they saw the traveler from this morning waving to them. Link reined in his horse and slowed, but didn’t stop. Bianca did the same. The man was calling Link’s name and Link called back. The traveler gestured for Link to follow, but he refused and asked what the matter was.

Bianca was surprised by what happened next: the man threw something to the ground and disappeared into a puff of smoke, then re-emerged wearing a plain white mask with a strange red symbol on it. He jumped into the air and came swinging at Link!

Link dodged and swung his sword; his opponent jumping backwards, firing two arrows from his wooden bow, and disappearing into the red orange smoke again. This game of back and forth, parry and counter, over and over repeated as Bianca watched.

Link was getting frustrated, the way he grunted and grimaced. Bianca hadn’t seen that look that in any other battle she’d witnessed. This one seemed to be more personal to him for some reason.

Finally he shoved his shield forward, rooted his foot, and thrust out his sword in the direction most likely that the next attack would spring from.

His intuition proved correct - there was a startled cry, and the thin, agile man fell backwards, onto his back, crawling on his hands and knees away from the warrior.

Link, rather than press the attack, sheathed his sword and approached the assassin. He bent down on one knee as the man huddled with his back against a tree. He whispered something to the man that Bianca couldn’t hear, but stopped the man’s quivering. Then he drove the assassin’s sword into the trunk of the tree and freely turned his back upon the man.

The assassin hesitated, looking for all the world like he was going to strike Link’s back, but instead, he withdrew another pellet and disappeared into a puff of smoke. 

Link looked tired and worn as he slipped back into his saddle.

They got back underway. Bianca let him sit and stew for a second before she came riding up to him again. “What was that about?”

“A member of the Shiga clan, trying to kill me.”

“You’re awfully blase about someone trying to kill you.”

Link sighed. “Everyone is trying to kill me.”

Silence. Then, “so, you said he was a ‘Shiga’? What’s that?”

“Cowardly Sheikah that chose to side with the Calamity Ganon. They strike from the dark, from the corners, from the shadows. And they could be anyone: the busy traveler; smiling old women, the kindest of bakers, could be one of them.”

“Why you?”

“Because I’m destined to bring down the Calamity.”

“So what did you whisper to him?”

Link grimaced. “That soon enough I’d deal with them. They know I’m capable of it too.”

Bianca took all of this in while they started to ascend out of the valley. His life seemed dangerous, and yet he was risking it all for Mayflower and her out of the kindness of his heart? Sometimes she didn’t understand the world, but at least he was trying to make it a better place, she supposed. She would be a little bit more wary now, and try to be as careful as he.

**Kakariko Village**

Kakariko was a sheltered place in-between the belly of a mountain range. They descended down into the village, past wooden gates and wooden chimes, travelers coming past them smiling and waving, though the village itself seemed quiet and subdued.

This was the village of the Shiekah, the reclusive people of Hyrule whose technology had promised to fight the Calamity Ganon when he appeared. Everything had gone wrong, and to escape from blame, they largely left the greater world and settled here, in this one town. Deeply spiritual, the place was filled with shrines and artwork dedicated to the Goddess, Hylia; one need look only at the line of offering statues they passed as they went into the town center.

Looking over the village square was one house that dwarfed the others around it. Here Link stopped and dismounted from his horse; Bianca followed him. “This is where Impa lives,” he said, as if that name meant anything to her, “she’s the leader of the Sheikah. I should stop in while I’m here.”

“What about me?” Bianca asked.

“Why not go get something to eat while you wait?” He gestured to a nearby inn with a welcome sign in front of it. “I won’t be long.”

They agreed to meet soon, and split off. Bianca approached the inn casually, feeling out of her element, and entered. The white haired Sheikah inside greeted her warmly. “Hello! What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for some lunch?” Bianca said.

“Please, take a seat,” the woman said, and busied off behind the counter. Bianca did as she was told, looking around the interior. It was decorated simply, with more of the wooden chimes outside and a plain cream interior. The roof was thatchwork, and the walls had more symbols of the Goddess on it.

The Sheikah returned with a bowl of something steaming and set it in front of her. “Here you go - one bowl of steaming carrot soup.”

Bianca was grateful and dug into the soup hungrily. The Sheikah woman stood and watched her, smiling. “We’re not usually so busy,” she joked.

Bianca chuckled. “It’s good. It’s really good.”

“Thank you. It’s from my garden behind the shop. What brings you to Kakariko?”

“Visiting the Great Fairy for a fairy kiss. I have a friend who’s very sick.”

“A shame. If you need a fairy’s kiss then she must be ill.”

“Thank you. We got attacked by bokoblins and she got injured. Master Link is helping me with this quest.”

Saying the name seemed to bring more energy to the conversation. The woman lightened up further. “Master Link? A wonderful man. It’s a shame he can’t settle down and just relax, hm?”

“He seems awfully serious.”

The woman shrugged. “He’s got a heavy task on his shoulders. The Cataclysm Ganon and all of that.”

“All of that. And he’s helping me. It makes me feel very guilty.”

“Nothing to feel guilty about. It’s what he does - help people.”

“Thanks.”

The door opened. Link walked inside the room. He spotted Bianca and the woman talking and waved, looking for the world just a little nervous for a change. It was an emotion she’d never seen the man express before, and it was actually very cute.

“Good soup?” He asked.

The pair smiled at him and the woman offered him a seat. “Would you like some?”

Link accepted the seat and nodded. “Thank you.”

***

Later they were saddling up their horses again, ready to head up one of the nearby hills and see the Great Fairy - finally. Their bellies were full of carrot soup, and they were feeling, for the first time since the accident, happy and relaxed. They were near the end of their journey, finally.

They didn’t mount up though. They lead the horses out of the town outskirts and up one of the hills, past a strange structure that glowed like the stone demons and Link’s tablet. That meant that it was of Sheikah origin, but she didn’t ask Link about it - at this point that seemed to be everything, and she was getting tired of it all.

The path became an overgrown, more than natural forest. Animals jumped and skittered in the underbrush. Link walked ahead like always, like none of this was a surprise to him. By this point Bianca was sure it wasn’t.

At the center of the glen stood what was a large flower bud, bigger than even a house. Link stopped them here and approached it reverently. It sat in the middle of a shallow pond with flowers and tiny fish swimming in it. The buds’ petals made stairs that Link could climb up, and when he reached their top he stopped and went for something in his pocket.

“What are you looking for? Magic?” Bianca asked.

“Rupees,” Link chuckled. “They’re a bit greedy.” He offered the handful of red rupees out, and waited. The bud’s leaves split aside, and a thick hand attached to a thick arm snaked out and quickly took them.

The bud exploded into fruition! Out of it emerged one giant of a woman, her face painted in garish colors, howling with delight. Bianca wanted to hide behind her horse, but Link stood stolid in the face of it all, waiting until the woman lowered down to his level and adopted a loving sort of congeniality towards him.

“The Champion returns,” she cooed. Link smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“This woman needs a fairy’s kiss,” Link said, gesturing back to Bianca, by the horses. “We’ve a friend that got injured and needs your help.”

The painted woman turned her gaze to Bianca's way. Bianca felt like she was being examined. “Hm, she does, does she? Come here.” She waved one painted, sharp, claw-like finger Bianca’s way, and she felt like she couldn’t stop herself from doing as she was told.

The fairy pulled her up the stairs and gave her a more up-close examination. “Hm, yes, I see, hm,” she said, tapping and pulling at one lip. “I think we can come to an arrangement. Yes.”

Bianca smiled hesitantly. “Yes? An arrangement?”

The fairy’s smile grew even wider. “Oh yes. I believe that Mr. Champion will have to give me exactly, hm, one. Kiss.” she turned to the side and pointed to her cheek. “Right. Here.”

Bianca’s eyes went wide. She looked over at Link, who sighed and shrugged. “If it has to be done.”

He leaned over and delivered the kiss. The fairy swooned and fell over in her pond. “Oh my, Mr. Champion!” she threw her arm over her face. “How you do me so!”

Link chuckled, like this was no big thing.

The fairy recovered and sighed. “Ah, if only I still had my youth. But what I can give you is what I promised you: the fairy’s kiss. Come here again.”

Bianca approached the fairy, who started to chant something in an older form of Hylian she only just recognized. Then she blew a kiss into Bianca’s open hands - and in it appeared an item, a jewel, of blue-green origin.

“There,” the fairy said, almost bored, “that’s what you were after.”

“Th-thank you,” Bianca stuttered, beyond belief that they’d actually managed to do what they’d set out to do. Link put his arm around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” he repeated, and led Bianca down the stairs while she was in her stupefied manner. The fairy waved and wished them a safe trip back.

**Return to Hateno**

Bianca genty held the fairy’s kiss in her hand the whole time they rode out of Kakariko and started their return trip to Hateno. She still couldn’t believe her luck over the last few days - that not only had there been someone there to save them when they were attacked, but that he’d been willing to take her this far just to help rescue her friend. She didn’t know how she was going to make any of this up to him.

The road wound its way through the cut mountain, sloping back downwards, where they would eventually hit the crossway that led them home. Thankfully no one, monster or Shiga, harassed them on their way; she’d even gotten to wave goodbye to the kind innkeeper in Kakariko.

The road held no dangers to her now; she simply wanted to get home. The swamp was quiet; Fort Hateno no longer a dirge but a welcome sight, and when they stopped to camp, Bianca fell right asleep.

Going back through the woods on the way back, she was hit with all sorts of happy thoughts of being home. She’d been so frightened for Mayflower’s safety and the dangers of the trip that she hadn’t thought of what it would be like to return home from a successful journey, but she found Hateno a welcome sight. As they climbed the hill leading into town, she was almost sad that the journey was over - she felt like she’d learned a lot from the traveler - from Link - that she didn’t know what she was going to do now that he would be moving on to the next journey himself.

They pulled their horses up to the healer’s hut and tied them to a nearby post. The wind was blowing again in Hateno, setting all of the windmills on top of people’s roofs akilter. They ducked into the shadowy realm of the healer and called out her name.

“One minute, one minute,” the healer growled, bustling out from the back of her tent. When she saw who it was, she put her hand to her hip. “Well well, look who it is. Have you come back successful?”

Bianca held out the fairy’s kiss, grinning ear to ear. “Here it is.”

The healer set glasses to her nose and looked down. “Oh my, you’re not kidding. I’m surprised that you were able to get one so quickly!”

“I had a good traveling companion,” Bianca said, with a gesture back to a smiling Link.

“Well, let’s get this on to your friend then and get her back to fighting. Come with me,” she said, and gestured for the pair to follow her back behind her curtains. Back here was loaded with stuff, with items, with crates and pots and vases full of things. On a bed was Mayflower, her breath steady but slow. Bianca swallowed at the sight of her.

“Give it here,” said the healer, and she reached her hand back. Bianca handed her the kiss, and the healer set it atop the girl’s breast. There was a pause, and then a flash; the kiss had split in half, and a colol pink mist was wafting into the sleeping woman’s nostrils. “Just let the magic do its work,” the healer said, and so it was. Mayflower’s breathing grew quicker and lighter; within just a few minutes, her eyes were blinking awake, and she was sitting upright in bed.

“Where am I?” she asked, looking around.

The healer took her hand and explained the situation. Bianca and Link stood back, watching everything, and giving the girl comforting, welcoming smiles. When she heard the sacrifices that Bianca had made for her - going out into the wild and coming back with something so arcane - she couldn’t help but cry. “Thank you so much! I can’t believe anyone would do that!”

“I know,” Bianca said, looking up to Link.

**Goodbye**

Link was saddling his horse later, outside of the Hateno Inn. Mayflower had insisted that this was the least of what she could do for him to thank him for his help. Link said he wanted no such thing, but she was so insistent that he finally acquiesced. Now, his belly full and throat slaked, he was ready to get back out on the road again, and see what else could be done for the people of Hyrule.

Bianca was there to see him off. She had mixed emotions over it all. She would miss him, obviously. She’d learned a lot from him, and felt as though new things had been opened up for her. She wished that she could continue to follow him. But she also understood that he was someone who had a journey that only he could complete, and that she couldn’t follow him everywhere that he was bound to go.

So instead, here she was, handing him the reins to his horse, thanking him again and again, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “You’ve been such a great help. I really don’t know how else to say it,” she said.

Link laughed and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I get it. I just want you and Mayflower to be a little bit more careful when you’re out truffle hunting.”

Bianca knew it was meant to be a joke, and she laughed, but there was a little sob in there too. “I’m going to learn the sword. Like you do. I’ll be her bodyguard from now on.”

Link smiled. “That sounds like a good idea. She could use the protection.”

“If you ever need somewhere to stay, you’ve always got a home here in Hateno,” Bianca said, and she was sure that he’d probably - just being him - heard that in other towns as well. But it meant more coming from her, and in this town.

“Thanks,” Link said. He swung into his saddle and adjusted himself. “Do you need anything else before I leave?”

Bianca shook her head. “I don’t think so. Thank you, again, for Mayflower. And for me.”

He leaned down and squeezed her hand. “Stay careful. Stay safe. I’ll see you again, soon.” Bianca forced a smile. He nodded,and set his horse off at a trot, down the path, down the hill, back into the woods and into the greater wild.

Bianca watched until his head disappeared behind the hill. Then, she set off for the blacksmith’s shop.


End file.
